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Whirlwind Mine Groundwater Characterization Report <br /> the sample zone with the elevated radium. A much larger kick is shown near bottom of <br /> hole in the Salt Wash ore horizon. Since the Brushy Basin water zone appears to be <br /> confined by claystones, it's unlikely to percolate down and contaminate the ore-bearing <br /> zone in the Salt Wash." <br /> 4.2.1.5 Energy Fuels Exploration Holes <br /> In 2007, EFR drilled 28 exploration holes for the Whirlwind Mine project. These holes were <br /> drilled on Beaver Mesa, 14 were drilled in Colorado and 14 were drilled in Utah. All holes <br /> penetrated the Top Rim sandstone of the Salt Wash Member. Appendix D of both the DRMS <br /> mine permit and BLM POO presents the hydrogeologic results from this drilling program for the <br /> holes drilled in Colorado. <br /> As presented, Appendix D focuses on the groundwater observations during drilling of the 14 <br /> exploration holes drilled in Colorado. As is typical for rotary drilling, drilling begins with air and <br /> injection of water is usually implemented after damp or wet cuttings are penetrated and become <br /> too heavy to lift by air alone. Injection of water into the borehole allows cuttings to be removed <br /> by water circulating in and out of the borehole. Therefore, the depth at which a driller first injects <br /> water is an indication of the first and shallowest depth at which groundwater was encountered. <br /> Once injection begins, the determination of the natural static water level in the drill hole from <br /> one or more saturated zones is not possible. Table 3 summarizes the results of groundwater <br /> observations for the 14 drill holes drilled in Colorado. All depths of geologic contacts were eye- <br /> estimated from hand-sketched drill holes in Appendix D of the Whirlwind Mine permit. <br /> All holes were drilled to a total depth of 660 ft below ground surface (bgs), except for holes WW- <br /> 07-12, WW-07-13, and WW-07-14 which were drilled to a total depth of 600 ft. The hand- <br /> sketched drill logs consistently show two sandstone units within the Brushy Basin Member with <br /> exception of holes WW-07-8, WW-07-9, and WW-07-10, which penetrated only the lower <br /> sandstone unit. Holes WW-07-8 and WW 07-9 were drilled dry to total depth. After drilling to <br /> total depth, drill hole WW-07-8 was dry and drill hole WW-07-9 had a probed water depth of <br /> 604 ft bgs. <br /> Key observations from the exploration drill hole program are: <br /> Western Water S Land, Inc. 19 <br />